This application claims priority to prior Japanese patent application JP 2002-283622, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
This invention relates to an optical fiber connector, which serves to hold optical fibers and to arrange the ends of the optical fibers.
Such an optical fiber connector is used for interconnection of optical fibers together with a mechanical splice device or a mating connector, as disclosed in JP-A 2001-208938 or JP-A 2000-19354. In either JP-A 2001-208938 or JP-A 2000-19354, an optical fiber connector has an arranging member, which is slidably held by a connector body of the optical fiber connector. The arranging member has a plurality of through holes, each of which has a diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the optical fiber and is used for suitably supporting and arranging the corresponding optical fiber. The splice device, which is referred to as an adapter in JP-A 2001-208938 or JP-A 2000-19354, has an H-like shaped portion which has two pairs of end portions.
Under a disconnected state, the arranging member projects from the front end of the connector body. The ends of the optical fibers are positioned within the through holes of the arranging member so that the arranging member protects the optical fiber ends. Upon a connected state of the optical fiber connector and the splice device, the arranging member is pressed by two end portions of the splice device and is retracted from the front end of the connector body so that the ends of the optical fibers are exposed and can be inserted into the splice device.
There is, however, a problem that foreign substances or contaminations might be frequently adhered to the ends of the optical fibers as explained below. Sometimes contaminations are adhered to the outer peripheries of the optical fibers when the ends of the optical fibers project from the arranging member. In this event, when the arranging member is moved forwards to hide the ends of the optical fibers, the contaminations are dropped or disposed on the inner surfaces of the through holes of the arranging member because of the small clearance between the outer peripheries of the optical fibers and the through holes. When the arranging member is moved backwards, such contaminations are pressed towards the outside of the arranging member by the ends of the optical fibers so that the contaminations are adhered to the ends of the optical fiber.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an optical fiber connector which can prevent foreign substances or contaminations from being adhered to ends of optical fibers, for example, upon its connection to a splice device or an adapter.
This invention can be applicable to an optical fiber connector which is able to hold optical fibers and to arrange ends of the optical fibers. According to this invention, the optical fiber connector comprises:
a connector body, which has a front end portion defining a first opening and comprises supporting means for supporting the optical fibers so that the optical fibers extend in a predefined direction, wherein the supporting means is positioned within a single closed predetermined area in a predefined plane perpendicular to the predefined direction, and the single closed predetermined area has a first area size in the predefined plane; and
a protector, which is movably held by the connector body and is provided with a front end surface, wherein: the front end surface is formed with a second opening; the second opening has in the predefined plane a second area size larger than the first area size; and the movable range of the protector is between a first position and a second position, the first position being a position where the protector is arranged in the first opening and is surrounding by the front end portion and where the front end surface of the protector projects from the front end portion through the first opening, the second position being a position where the front end surface of the protector is retracted from the front end portion through the first opening.